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Bucs drop 2 to Vikes
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| Staff photo by Jim Franz Beloit College’s Mike Kovach applies a late tag to Lawrence’s Andrew Wilt, who slid in with a double. |
By Jim Franz
Sports Editor
Lawrence takes charge
Make no mistake about it, there were plenty of frustrating moments in Monday's 13-4 and 5-0 double-header loss to visiting Lawrence at Pohlman Field.
Yet Beloit College baseball coach Dave DeGeorge couldn't help but trace the root of the problem back to Sunday's second game in Appleton.
For the Bucs (15-12, 4-8 MWC), that's when things really started to take a turn for the worse.
“I think the whole series turned early in the second game (Sunday),” DeGeorge said. “We played a great first game. (Rick) Krajewski pitched a four-hit shutout over nine innings. We weren't great on offense, but we did fine. Right off the bat in the second game we scored two runs, but we didn't play much after that. I didn't like our approach, our focus, our intensity. When we didn't put them away, Lawrence was able to come back and ultimately win in extra innings.
“Once we left them off the hook, their confidence grew and we've been in a here-we-go-again mode. Lawrence deserved to win (Monday). We didn't.”
The Bucs tried to regain the momentum, scoring in the first inning, but even that left them with a hint of frustration. Jake Majeski's one-out single was followed by an RBI double by Ryan Schmitz, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. That hurt because Hunter Nelson blasted a triple that would have scored him. The next batter grounded out and Beloit had three hits, two for extra bases, and a single run to show for it.
Talk about setting the tone. The Bucs went on to rap out 15 hits in the first game, but stranded 11 baserunners and scored just four runs. Lawrence nearly scored that many on a bunt in the second inning.
Starter Schmitz had hit the first batter he faced and then allowed a single. Hawk Haiduke bunted toward the mound and Schmitz elected to try for the lead runner at third. His throw sailed down the left field line and even the bunter, Haiduke, was able to circle the bases on the error for a 3-1 lead.
“That was just a poor decision,” DeGeorge said. “We talk from the first practice about not making plays at the lead base unless it's a no-brainer. That hurt, because if you stay out of big innings, you usually win.”
The Bucs scored on back-to-back doubles by Jon Moran and Dan Edwards in the second and while Lawrence tacked on single runs in the third and fourth, Beloit closed within 5-3 in the fifth on Mike Kovach's RBI single.
Lawrence (7-12, 3-5 MWC) blew the game open in the late innings, scoring four times in both the seventh and ninth innings. The Bucs did add a final tally in the ninth when Jon Siil knocked in Jeff Weiner with a groundout.
Beloit outhit Lawrence, 15-11, with Nelson going 3-for-4 and Majeski, Schmitz and Moran all collecting two hits. But the Bucs couldn't deliver in the clutch.
“We're not getting hits with runners in scoring position,” DeGeorge said. “We've had problems getting the hit when it's important, with two outs and guys at second and third. In the fifth and sixth innings, we're down 5-3 and both times we have two outs and runners and second and third and we can't get a hit. If we get hits there, the whole game changes.”
The offense evaporated in the second game a Beloit managed just three hits off Ben Konetzke. Lawrence gave him all the runs he needed in the first inning on a two-run double by Tommy Schmidt off Beloit starter Jordan DeGeorge (6 innings, seven hits, five runs, four earned).
It stayed 2-0 until the sixth when Ben Webster tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tim Salm and Schmidt followed with a home run to left center. The Vikings tacked on an unearned run in the seventh. Majeski worked two scoreless innings out of the bullpen and Brett Erlenbach one.
NOTES: The Bucs have a single game with MSOE on Wednesday at Pohlman Field (6 p.m.).
Make no mistake about it, there were plenty of frustrating moments in Monday's 13-4 and 5-0 double-header loss to visiting Lawrence at Pohlman Field.
Yet Beloit College baseball coach Dave DeGeorge couldn't help but trace the root of the problem back to Sunday's second game in Appleton.
For the Bucs (15-12, 4-8 MWC), that's when things really started to take a turn for the worse.
“I think the whole series turned early in the second game (Sunday),” DeGeorge said. “We played a great first game. (Rick) Krajewski pitched a four-hit shutout over nine innings. We weren't great on offense, but we did fine. Right off the bat in the second game we scored two runs, but we didn't play much after that. I didn't like our approach, our focus, our intensity. When we didn't put them away, Lawrence was able to come back and ultimately win in extra innings.
“Once we left them off the hook, their confidence grew and we've been in a here-we-go-again mode. Lawrence deserved to win (Monday). We didn't.”
The Bucs tried to regain the momentum, scoring in the first inning, but even that left them with a hint of frustration. Jake Majeski's one-out single was followed by an RBI double by Ryan Schmitz, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. That hurt because Hunter Nelson blasted a triple that would have scored him. The next batter grounded out and Beloit had three hits, two for extra bases, and a single run to show for it.
Talk about setting the tone. The Bucs went on to rap out 15 hits in the first game, but stranded 11 baserunners and scored just four runs. Lawrence nearly scored that many on a bunt in the second inning.
Starter Schmitz had hit the first batter he faced and then allowed a single. Hawk Haiduke bunted toward the mound and Schmitz elected to try for the lead runner at third. His throw sailed down the left field line and even the bunter, Haiduke, was able to circle the bases on the error for a 3-1 lead.
“That was just a poor decision,” DeGeorge said. “We talk from the first practice about not making plays at the lead base unless it's a no-brainer. That hurt, because if you stay out of big innings, you usually win.”
The Bucs scored on back-to-back doubles by Jon Moran and Dan Edwards in the second and while Lawrence tacked on single runs in the third and fourth, Beloit closed within 5-3 in the fifth on Mike Kovach's RBI single.
Lawrence (7-12, 3-5 MWC) blew the game open in the late innings, scoring four times in both the seventh and ninth innings. The Bucs did add a final tally in the ninth when Jon Siil knocked in Jeff Weiner with a groundout.
Beloit outhit Lawrence, 15-11, with Nelson going 3-for-4 and Majeski, Schmitz and Moran all collecting two hits. But the Bucs couldn't deliver in the clutch.
“We're not getting hits with runners in scoring position,” DeGeorge said. “We've had problems getting the hit when it's important, with two outs and guys at second and third. In the fifth and sixth innings, we're down 5-3 and both times we have two outs and runners and second and third and we can't get a hit. If we get hits there, the whole game changes.”
The offense evaporated in the second game a Beloit managed just three hits off Ben Konetzke. Lawrence gave him all the runs he needed in the first inning on a two-run double by Tommy Schmidt off Beloit starter Jordan DeGeorge (6 innings, seven hits, five runs, four earned).
It stayed 2-0 until the sixth when Ben Webster tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tim Salm and Schmidt followed with a home run to left center. The Vikings tacked on an unearned run in the seventh. Majeski worked two scoreless innings out of the bullpen and Brett Erlenbach one.
NOTES: The Bucs have a single game with MSOE on Wednesday at Pohlman Field (6 p.m.).
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